Relics of the Past
by Falara Hughes
Summary: The Baron is dead! Long live the new Baron! Old factions re-emerge and Garrett plots to put an end to his dealings with the Keepers and the primal. Part four of my ongoing Thief 2014 post-game story.
1. With Great Power

**Part 1: With Great Power**

Baron Northcrest was dead. There was no telling when it might have happened. Maybe during the Graven riots—maybe at the hands of Jordan Sarto and her fake Thief-Taker. The Houses were always good at keeping their secrets from the general public and I didn't care to look into it myself. The end of the Northcrest dynasty was pretty obvious when all of his banners were taken down and his Watch was disbanded. A new Baron was staking his claim with the efficiency of the ones who came before him.

I've only known Elias Northcrest as the Baron of The City and it was interesting to live during a changing of the Houses. For the few days The City went without the old Watch, it seemed like every thief and thug was having their way with the people's valuables. There was wholesale looting in the poorer districts. The aristocrats hired mercenaries and former members of the Baron's Watch to try and keep themselves safe. I wasn't afraid of their hired help, so while most other criminals stabbed each other in the back over the slim pickings in places like Riverside and Shoalsgate, I went right for the prizes in Dayport.

I wasn't going to stop stealing just because the Queen of Beggars and the rest of the Keepers were trying to induct me into their fold. She seemed to think that being one of them would come naturally to me, but the only thing that really came naturally to me was taking what originally belonged to others. As far as I was concerned, that was a far more interesting use of my time.

I stood in the attic of an old widower's townhouse, thoughtfully eyeing a sliding puzzle that concealed a wall safe. Aristocrats love their elaborate locks and I loved them for it. If I slid one panel the wrong way, small vents in the picture frame would release a gas that would leave me paralyzed. I had learned that much from several work orders I found around the house. With the power of the primal, I could clearly see the pathways scratched into the wood of the puzzle by the backing of each panel. Once I was sure I knew the right sequence to set the portrait, I began to shift the panels carefully.

The widower's former wife certainly had her own beauty, complimented by the amethyst necklace depicted in the completed portrait. The necklace itself was even more beautiful in person. I stood there admiring it in the moonlight coming through holes in the attic's roof. The necklace was designed to drape most of its gems down a woman's collarbone to embellish the cleavage. The widower's sister-in-law was going to be pleased to see it once Basso delivered it to her, but I might have to steal it again to add to my personal collection.

I started to close the safe but stopped when something landed on my right shoulder. One of the Queen of Beggars' messengers looked up at me and I frowned right back. When they were that calm, I knew it was because she sent them to page me. I brushed the rat off my shoulder pad and finished resetting the puzzle before leaving the attic through a window.

I hadn't removed the glyphs from the clock tower—they seemed to be the only way I could have one place in this city still to myself anymore. Ever since I accepted her apology and tentatively agreed to watch out for anything apocalyptic, the Queen of Beggars has been sending her rats to seek me out while I'm on the job. This was going to have to stop. I had my life to live and no matter how much the Keepers wanted me to live every moment for them, that just wasn't going to happen.

* * *

I was still doing research in the old library, trying to find out if there was a final solution to all of this madness. Madame Xiao-Xiao had been extremely helpful in that effort since I started taking jobs from her, which meant I didn't have to spend all day rooting through those books. She had found scraps of journal entries that hinted at a way to put the primal to rest again. Something about a glyph to end all glyphs. The ritual might cost me the extra senses I had gained but I was ready to trade them in for an end to the responsibility that I didn't ask for.

The Queen of Beggars didn't need to know that, though. She would probably send Costa after me for having the idea.

When I arrived at the old church, she was sitting on a pew above ground, staring in the direction of the defaced altar that she normally sat near. "When I said that I would watch over The City," I grumbled, "I meant 'in my spare time.' You can't keep sending your rats after me while I'm working. What if one of them springs a trap that gets me killed?"

She ignored my topic and started one of her own. "Were you thinking about attending the new Baron's public address? I hear he has great things planned for The City."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "People in charge always say that and it always turns out to be a disaster. What do you want from me, Beggar Queen? I haven't seen, heard or felt anything suspicious in weeks."

"Because you're not looking, listening or feeling in the right places. You're still treating this as something you have no stake in; therefore, to you it is only an afterthought. You can't afford to pretend to be so blind anymore, Garrett. I thought you understood that."

I sighed deeply and sat down on the pew behind her. "All right. Where do you want me to look?"

"You could start with the door I showed you. I noticed that you still haven't brought Costa back into The City."

"I gave him a task and I'm giving him time to do it." For all I knew, he had already found a place for Lorena's son to live but it was a convenient enough excuse for why I hadn't shown him how to get back.

She started to angle her head towards me. "Garrett—"

"As much as you claim that I have a choice, you sure are pretty insistent that I take on this responsibility." I narrowed my eyes at the silver oval that dangled from her ear.

"You have a choice in how you handle the responsibility, Garrett. But your fate..."

"Here we go." I rolled my eyes and moved away from the pews.

"... has always been to have it. Let Costa guide you so that you can make an informed decision."

"We'll see." I turned to leave the church. I still needed to deliver the necklace to Basso before I ended my night.


	2. The Man with the Plan

**Part 2: The Man with the Plan**

General Rutger Stonebridge took up the mantle of The City's Baron and quickly established his House as the new order. He wasn't just a noble—he was a war veteran who waged several successful campaigns in far off lands. He brought with him an army of supporters who were well-equipped to enforce his rule. When it came time to rebuild the new City Watch, he strategically hired local men to fill the role; after all, you can't successfully take over a region without some support from its people.

I attended the new Baron's speech because I wanted to get a good look at him and a feel for how things might be different in The City, if at all. Faces were usually the only thing that ever changed on the people in charge, not their way of running things into the ground.

Practically all of The City's population was gathered in the square of Cinderfall, where the Baron had decided to hold his speech. He could have held it someplace more scenic like Auldale, but at least with the factories shut down for the day, there was a little sky to be seen beyond the smoke clouds.

I stood on a water tower situated above one of the factories closest to the stage. It was a perfect vantage point—I could even see some of the other thieves and spies who had hidden themselves nearby to watch and listen.

The guards that preceded the new Baron were well-armored and looked like walking suits of leather and iron. Each carried a hammer with a long handle—no swords. The crest on the flags they carried was also in the shape of a long-handled hammer, positioned upright with the shape of a chisel inlaid in the middle of it. Something about that hammer crest was oddly familiar. I settled into my perch with more interest in the proceedings.

Baron Stonebridge rode in on a black stallion escorted by more of his guards. His hair and beard were white but the face beneath that looked strong. Even the wrinkles that were brought on by a cheerful smile looked sturdy. He wore a formal armor that made him look more like a General than an aristocrat.

A vague feeling agitated my right eye while I looked at him. I didn't think much of it until the Queen of Beggars' question came back to me. There must have been something about this new Baron that she wanted me to look for. I took a moment to relax my extra senses and refocused in time for his speech to start.

"The City is as timeless as it is fragile." His voice was charismatic and booming. He spoke through the megaphone posted at the stage but I had a feeling his words would carry without it. "It was forged by hard labor and has stood the trials of its natural, unnatural and all too human foes. Like an old veteran who has served his people well, The City now needs to be better taken care of. Which is why I'm here. My name is Baron Rutger Stonebridge, and I have come to bring this city all that it deserves."

The crowd was predictably quiet; after all, the Baron's guards alone looked like a wall of intimidation and his words had yet to inspire confidence.

"I am familiar with the direction that was taken by the old regime. The Northcrests favored progress, which is not a bad thing, unless that progress does nothing to better the lives of each and every person who makes it possible: You."

The agitation that caused my eye to squint returned to make all of my vision blurry. I started to lose my balance but regained it and took that opportunity to climb down from the water tower for my own safety.

"The citizens are the life blood of this city. You are the reason for its existence. Without you, nature would reclaim the land for itself and these buildings would have no purpose. It is unfortunate that the Northcrests did not realize this, but I am here to establish that realization for this generation and the generations to come."

My feet barely made it to the roof of the factory before I lost my balance again. I dropped to one knee and watched as the world peeled away around me—every brick and beam lifted until I was left kneeling in a field surrounded by forests on all sides. It looked like I had been brought back to the field inside the Maw of Chaos, but the sky was normal and the forests were all colored the same.

When I regained my balance, I stood up and looked in the direction of some distant noises. There were armies rushing from the trees on either side of the field. One was being lead by a massive bear while the other was being lead by a man holding a sledgehammer above his head. I turned to run out of their way but my path was blocked by a figure in a hooded robe.

When he spoke to me I didn't recognize his voice. "History likes to repeat itself, Garrett. Are you willing to pay the price to speed it along?" Then he lowered his hood. _It was me_, or at least he looked like me but with one key difference: He was missing his right eye. The space behind his eyelid was a dark void that threatened to absorb me if I stared at it for too long.

The one-eyed Garrett jumped me and pinned me to the ground. I reached up in time to grab his wrist and stop him from stabbing me in the eye with a thin dagger. While we struggled, the oncoming armies whipped up dust that clouded the area and made it hard to see who I was fighting.

* * *

"Garrett! Garrett, can you hear me?"

"_Garrett, Garrett!_"

The combined sound of Scribe and Rumor's high-pitched voices brought me back from the vision. She was hovering over me with the bird on her shoulder. Six-Fingers stood nearby but wasn't as close to my face.

"You all right there, mate?" He offered a hand to help me to my feet. "We saw you stumble from the refinery. Thought you might've fainted from all the wondrous promises the new Baron's made."

A cheer from the crowd reminded me that the speech was still going on. I looked over the edge of the roof to regain my bearings.

Baron Stonebridge was in a fervor that was now being mimicked by the crowd. "There will be no threat of automatons taking jobs from the working class! You will all find hard work and good wages here, my friends! And feel free to praise whatever god you want for it! Henceforth, the ban on worshiping the old gods has been lifted! Go to church, go to the bar—whatever your weekly ritual is! Just make sure you get up ready for work the next morning."

There was laughter and applause. The Baron was doing a good job of rallying the people behind his ideals. Even Scribe seemed encouraged by his words.

"So this Baron intends to bring wages back to the working class..." She eagerly took notes on a pad she pulled out of her boot. "Sounds like things will be more profitable for everyone in the near future."

"About time." Six stepped up to the edge of the roof and held up a coin that was slightly scratched. "Sure I've stolen this same coin from ten different people over a period of two weeks. New wealth will be good for The City."

I might have missed the bulk of his speech but so far I wasn't impressed with this new Baron; especially not after my vision. A war was coming and if I didn't want to be in the middle of it, I was going to have to get ahead of it.


	3. Chess Moves

**Part 3: Chess Moves**

After such a grand speech, a Baron would be expected to entertain the upper class in his new home. Stonebridge's grand manor hadn't been built over the ashes of the Northcrests' yet, so he held his gathering in the Valeria Opera House in Dayport. It was another favorite spot of mine because the level of social distraction made it a perfect place to shop for valuables. All I had to do was stay hidden in the curtained edges of the walls or the shaded sections of the upper balconies.

The auditorium had been converted into a ballroom for this special occasion. I started my surveillance in the upper hallways, picking pockets while I listened to the names being announced as the different parties entered the gathering.

"Baryl Wainscott and Juniper Wainscott of Dayport."

The parents of the little girl who thought I was her imaginary friend. They should have been home making sure she wasn't getting friendly with some other stranger that crawled into their cellar.

"Kessel Stonebridge of Blackbrook."

A relative of the Baron's? I slipped into a darkened balcony and closed its curtains to give myself a little privacy. I could see Kessel marching across the room with purpose and a very irritated look on his face. This was going to be an entertaining night.

My gaze followed him halfway across the floor before a nagging sensation pulled my attention to the next couple that entered the gathering.

"Constantine Gillsweet and Victoria Wood of the marshlands."

To everyone else, this couple was a balding old man and his noticeably younger companion. I barely had to concentrate to see the shadow of the Trickster and his consort trail them while they mingled with the crowd. It was about time they showed themselves. Ever since Costa acted like I had brought on the end times by helping them I've been keeping an eye open for when they would finally make a move. I decided to sneak down to the lower level for a closer look at what they were up to.

I could hear a lot while crawling through the vents below the balconies, and while I wasn't in the position to pick pockets anymore, I was still free to move around the large gathering without being seen.

The Baron and the other Stonebridge were the closest to the path I wandered. They were standing near a section of tables that outlined the ballroom floor.

"I just wish that you would have involved _me_, uncle. This whole thing would be the perfect opportunity for me to prove myself.

"You've had that opportunity time and time again, Kessel. Now please. Don't embarrass yourself in front of The City's nobility."

A family squabble; why was I not surprised. Kessel's back was facing my direction so I couldn't read his face but his shoulders were tense. He sounded like he was talking through his teeth when he spoke again.

"Well if you're not going to let me stand with you on this, then you should at least accept my gift on behalf of your latest conquest. It will be here in a matter of days, and it would be very rude for you to turn it away."

"I'll allow it, but you know how I feel about machine men. They can come for a few days, but after that, send them back to whatever pit you dug them out of."

The new Baron had a thing against automatons. That was definitely the polar opposite of Baron Northcrest's point of view. For a while it seemed like he was plotting to replace the entire population with them.

Constantine and Viktoria wandered their way over to the Baron and they both had mischievous looks in their eyes. This should be good. I settled in to listen.

"Baron Stonebridge." Constantine grinned a toothy grin that could only belong to the Trickster. "You have come quite the long way to grace The City with your leadership."

The Baron took a hard look at him. "I'd say you've come from a long way as well." He spoke in a tone that was certain of who he was speaking to. Did he know about the Trickster and Viktoria? This conversation just became more interesting.

Viktoria flashed a clever smile but continued to play her word games. "Only from the marshlands, though we _are_ looking into a few homes within The City's walls."

"I should hope so," the Baron replied. "There's hardly a place to truly call home out in the marsh. Nothing but bugs, mud and _savages_. It's hardly a place for someone who wants to make something of themselves."

"The people of the marsh live simple lives, yes, but they are cunning. They have adapted to the world as it is." Her eyes flashed red for a split second. "As it should be."

I had to wonder if he had missed the gesture or didn't care. The Baron swirled the wine in his glass and let out a quick laugh. "I think everyone here with free-running water and a comfortable place to sleep would disagree with you."

Their verbal blows amused me at first but then I remembered my vision. If these were the two factions that were about to go to war, anyone else would bet their money on Stonebridge's men. I knew too much about the two that stood in front of him to make such a fool's wager.

Constantine made a sudden change in the subject. "It is my understanding, Baron, that you are allowing the worship of the old gods again. Does that include _all_ of them?"

"I see no reason to ban someone's faith, no matter how misguided it may be," he replied. "But the law is still the law, and it will be enforced, even if your crime was in the name of whatever god you worship."

"Well then." Viktoria took Constantine by the arm and turned to walk away with him. "All praise to the Honeymaker for the spiritual feast to come."

The Baron raised his glass to them as they left. "And may the Builder grant you His favor in selecting a fine home built by His will and human labor."

Great, a holy war. I was definitely going to have to put a stop to this. If I could send Viktoria and the Trickster back to the Maw somehow, that might do it. I wasn't siding with the Baron and his Builder worship, but the Pagans had lied to me and I owed them for it. Besides, I just wasn't into the Woodsie way of life. They didn't look like they had a whole lot of interesting things to steal.


	4. The Tell-Tale Ruby

**Part 4: The Tell-Tale Ruby**

I was still charging Madame Xiao-Xiao for my services despite her help, but I did make a deal with her: If she happened to find any pages or books in her collection that talked about the glyphs, I'd take them in exchange for a job. She sent word through Basso that it was time for me to hold up my end of the bargain. I couldn't wait to see what she might have found.

"_You call this helpful?_" The pages she handed me were worn and water-damaged—I could barely identify the glyphs that were fading on them.

"No, that is what I call bait, sweetheart. Now here's the hook." She settled into a chair and propped a book between her legs. There were symbols on the book that I had never seen before, and it looked like it had gone undamaged by time or anything else.

I folded my arms and looked at her. "All right. What am I going to have to do to get that from between your legs?"

"Oh, I could think of a thousand things, Master Thief, but since I know you won't do any of those, let's just stick with the one thing you will."

She stood up and brought the book to a lectern that was already covered in papers. "There is a gemstone more valuable than any you've ever laid eyes on."

"I'll be the judge of that," I said as I stood on the other side of the stand. Xiao-Xiao uncovered an old portrait of a man who looked like he was dying of a wasting disease. He had hidden most of it behind his fancy clothes but the artist didn't miss his sunken cheeks and eye sockets. In his lap, he held a large gemstone that resembled a beating heart. It was painted red for the most part but a blue transition had been purposefully painted along one edge.

"This, is the Burrick's Heart Ruby," the madame explained. "It was brought to The City centuries ago by the Warwick expedition. It has changed hands many times and even sat in a few museums. I want it for my art wing."

"You have an art wing?" This was news to me and I knew every inch of this place.

"I _will_ have one, and this beauty will be its centerpiece. The right amount of romantic and erotic art can really put someone in the mood... to spend more money."

I had to smirk at that. "All right. Where can I find it?"

* * *

The Burrick's Heart managed to leave The City decades ago in the hands of a would-be collector. Madame Xiao-Xiao's sources had clued her into a caravan that would be passing through the marshlands and carrying the ruby among its cargo. I didn't know why she needed me to steal it; after all, there were plenty thugs for hire in the streets now that Northcrest's Watch was disbanded. She could hire a whole raiding party to take down the caravan before it passed through the forest on the edge of the marsh. Still, the country air might do me some good. I also needed that book and didn't want to damage our business relationship by stealing it from her.

Xiao-Xiao was kind enough to have a cart arranged that would take me where the highway reached the forest. I had to walk into the forest to find my target but at least my ride would be waiting for me once I was done.

The caravan was parked in a clearing away from the road. There were six wagons sitting in a circle but the horses were nowhere to be seen. That and the quiet made me feel wary about my approach. I stuck to the trees and circled the camp to look for signs of life.

A cry from the bushes drew my attention to a space in the trees a few yards away. I peered around one of them and saw bodies being dragged into shallow water by men wearing pelts and moss. They had one prisoner still alive but he didn't have much time left. That meant I didn't, either. I went back to the camp and hopped into the first wagon to take a look around.

There were a lot of small pieces of jewelry for me to pocket but no heart-shaped ruby. I moved on to the next wagon but it was more of the same.

The marsh-dwellers approached the camp talking in a broken English like the Pagans in the Maw. I slipped out of a window on the outer side of the wagon I was in before one of them made it inside.

There were three others and two of them went into separate wagons while the last one stood watch near the central camp fire. I crept around the edges to reach one that wasn't occupied, but the same feeling that pulled my attention to Viktoria and the Trickster in disguise made me stop next to a wagon that one of the natives was in. There was a faint voice coming from inside that sounded nothing like a marsh-dweller.

"_... Do you think I'm pretty?_"

I went up to the curtain that covered the door of the wagon and looked in from a corner. The marsh-dweller had his back to me but I could see that he was holding the Burrick's Heart in one hand. It was very eye-catching. When it was rotated, the color changed from red to blue and back again. Now that I saw it in person I could see why Madame Xiao-Xiao wanted it.

I crawled into the carriage and flicked the marsh-dweller's deer-head cap forward. While his reaction was to pull it off his face, I slammed my blackjack into the back of his skull. Then I crept over him to take the ruby. I had to spare a few moments to appraise the color change but afterwards I reached down to hide it in a pouch.

"_Do YOU think I'm pretty?_"

The voice came from the stone. I knew it was a bit too feminine to belong to the marsh-dweller. Now that I had it in my possession it seemed to be talking inside my head. I held it up and focused on its core.

"_That tickles!_" It broke my concentration by giggling. Could it tell that I was trying to examine it with my mind's eye?

"_Oh, you are so ruggedly handsome, and your heart—Ooo, it has been hurt, hasn't it? Well I won't hurt you. Tell me you love me. Admire me, and we can spend the rest of your life making each other very happy!_"

I could hear the natives getting restless outside. I put the Heart away and slipped back out the way I came. Madame Xiao-Xiao could have it if it was going to be so chatty. I left the camp to the marsh-dwellers scavenging for goods.

Madame Xiao-Xiao would have kissed me if I had let her, but she opted for kissing the book before she handed it to me. As soon as it touched my fingers I could feel that something was alive inside it. This had to have been what I was looking for. I took it home immediately to read it.


	5. The New Establishment

**Part 5: The New Establishment**

_The book wouldn't open._ It wasn't locked—locks I could handle—but the pages were fixed together and wouldn't budge. They didn't look like they had been glued together. _Dammit._ I was going to have to figure this out without talking to Costa or the Queen of Beggars.

While I worked on the mystery of the book in the back of my mind, I decided to stop by Basso's for another job. It always helped me to think on my feet.

He was all too happy to see me. "Hey-hey, Garrett! Boy do I have a client for you, pal! You are not gonna believe who asked to have an audience with the infamous Master Thief!"

He was obviously drunk but his excitement put me in a good mood. "Let's hear it."

"Oh no. You gotta guess first." He shook a finger at me and laughed like a schoolboy. I gave him a look that said I wasn't in the mood for guessing games but the scent of his laughter told me he was too drunk to care.

"All right... The Collector?" Some of his collection _was_ missing, mostly because I'd stolen it.

Basso laughed again. "You'll have to do better than that, my friend!"

This was already a huge waste of my time. "Come on, Basso. The only person who would surprise me is Baron Stonebridge."

He threw his hands up and frowned. "You're no fun, you know that? Shit, you can't even be terrible enough at a guessing game to take longer than a few answers to be right."

I replayed my halfhearted answer in my head. "Baron Stonebridge wants me to steal something for him?"

Basso settled on his stool and pointed at the ceiling. "One of his associates came by and asked for THE best thief in all of The City to meet with him at the Crippled Burrick. He's got a job for you on behalf of the Baron. He's payin' good money, too, so you should probably lend him your ear."

Meeting one of the Baron's associates in a crowded place might seem like a good idea, but I couldn't help but feel like I was being lured into a trap. "I'll see what the Baron wants," I told Basso, then bought a few supplies before heading to Auldale. If Stonebridge really did have a job for me, I was going to hear it from him.

* * *

This Baron was turning out to be a more down-to-earth person than the last. While he was waiting for his new home to be built, he took up residence in a house that was no better than anyone else's in Auldale. I got over the fence without any of his guards seeing me and into the pantry within seconds of a servant heading back in from a smoke break. There were a few guards marching around on the inside, but they all tread lightly when they passed the downstairs study. That had to be where I would find him.

I slipped into the study and the Baron looked at me from behind his desk. He didn't call for the guards so this job had to have been legit.

"I'm impressed," he said. "I'm also a little disappointed in my guard duty. You must be the thief I sent for. Did you speak to my associate?"

"I wanted to hear the job from the horse's mouth," I told him.

"You're direct. I like that." He settled back in his chair and pulled a drawer on his desk to reach for something. I kept a hand close to a flash bomb in case that something turned out to be a weapon. "This must be odd for you, being called to do a job for me, especially with the show of force I have at my disposal."

I let my hand relax when he took a book from the drawer and set it on the desk. "Not really. If I had a brick for every time a man in power paid me to get something even they couldn't, I'd be able to build my own city right next to this one." I studied the different books and decorations around his office. There was a theme of war written on every spine, and most of the artifacts depicted some variation of a man wielding a hammer.

"What I need from you is something that must be taken strategically," he said. "As the new Baron, my enemies are many, but nowhere near as many as the people who need to be assured of my good intentions. If I take what I need by force—"

"Save it." I had heard these excuses too many times to hear it again. "You can justify your actions to whoever you believe in. Just give me the details of the job and let me get to it."

"All right." He opened the book and flipped through its pages. "A few nights ago, a pair of nobles by the name of Constantine Gillsweet and Viktoria Wood introduced themselves to me."

Now he had my full attention.

"To everyone else, they're Pagan sympathizers, but I know exactly who they are and what they're here for." There was that tone again—the one that told me he may very well know the same thing I did about them. I decided to keep that to myself for now.

The Baron stopped on a specific page of his book and turned it to me so I could see the drawing on the page. "Their new home is in Dayport. I'll give you the address. I need you to look for and take this from them: It's called The Eye, and without it they will not be able to complete any plots they might have against me."

The Eye looked more like a beehive with horns but the picture did show a human eye on one end of it. Something about that sketch made my right eye twitch. I feigned ignorance to get more information.

"What's so special about it? This eye thing looks like the worst paper-mâché I've ever seen."

"You don't need to worry about that." Good man. Most of my clients were too eager to tell me all about their items of interest. I couldn't press or he would get suspicious. I shrugged my shoulders and picked up the book to study the picture a bit closer.

The Baron continued to explain the job. "I don't know where The Eye might be if it's in their house, but I do know that you will need to keep your wits about you. In _my_ home, you can clearly see the dangers to yourself. In theirs, you won't be so lucky." He leaned forward in his chair. "Full disclosure: I don't actually expect you to come back alive from this, but if you do, you will be handsomely rewarded."

I smirked and returned his book. "You've already got my RSVP to this ball. No need to tell me what orchestra is playing." I turned and opened the door of his office. The guard who happened to be walking by was surprised to see me but when he reached for his weapon, the Baron waved him off.

"Stand down, soldier. This man is my guest. See to it that he leaves here unharmed."

"I can see to that myself," I said over my shoulder, then stepped around the guard. He might as well have been a statue for how much I felt he was a threat to me, and I let him know that when I shouldered past him.


	6. The Eye's Beholder

**Part 6: The Eye's Beholder**

It was strange to be on the same page as a Baron but so far Stonebridge was proving to be the lesser of two evils. If this Eye was a weapon that The Trickster had at his disposal, then I was definitely going to have to relieve him of it. I was also eager to see what the two were up to. Costa made it sound like they were going to bring The City to its knees but so far the only thing I noticed about their presence was that plant life everywhere seemed more vibrant and alive.

Constantine's new home wasn't lavish but it was still large. The landscaping around it was more elaborate, with its tall trees and bushes that acted as a second fence. It was definitely the greenest garden in The City but I would have been really surprised if it weren't.

As I pushed through the brush, I stopped to stare at a deer that lifted its head. It looked like it was at a further distance from me than I had estimated the yard's length to be. When I looked back for the wall I came over, it was also further away than it should have been. I hadn't sensed crossing over any kind of magic portal but this change in depth perception was enough to keep me on my guard.

I could see Constantine and Viktoria through the first window I approached, sitting in front of a fireplace and carrying a conversation. Knowing them, that could have been an illusion. I went around the side of the house and climbed up to the second level.

The first window I reached on the second level looked a bit more promising. There was a long hallway beyond it and no lights were on. I eased it open and carefully slipped over the windowsill.

My legs were immediately cold and couldn't seem to find the floor. The rest of my body followed and I found myself no longer clinging to the window frame—my hand had a firm grip on a rock at the top of a snow-covered mountain.

The window wasn't even there anymore. I was dangling by one hand and that hand was starting to freeze. I had to let go and ended up sliding through snow and rocky terrain with harsh winds blasting ice in my face. Tree branches came out of nowhere and eagerly punished me for setting foot in this house of tricks. I grabbed one of them to stop myself from sliding and looked below. The mountainside disappeared into a bank of fog and there was no sign of where it might end.

"_Are you having fun, foolish man?_" The voice that whispered in my head didn't belong to the Trickster or Viktoria. "_I know what you are here for. The desire is what makes it possible for me to reach out to you now. Yet you will not find what you seek on desire alone. Sharpen your skills, thief. Your prize awaits, but that prize may be more than you bargained for._"

Whoever it was, he had issued a challenge and it would have been rude of me not to accept it. I peered through the trees and saw an outcropping of rocks that formed a cave in the mountainside. Using the claw and careful footing, I worked my way along the frozen rocks and tree limbs until the cave was within jumping distance. One good side-roll and I would have a place to sit and think away from the cold.

I tumbled across a bed of grass and barely had a moment to dig the claw into a fallen log suspended in mid-air. I was dangling from it over a canyon full of trees hiding the ground that would have meant my death if I fell.

I managed to pull myself up onto the log and when I looked back in the direction I came from, I saw a jungle that extended beyond my field of vision. If the house was going to keep changing like this, it was going to take forever for me to find what I was looking for.

"_The world around him changes and it may well change again. How will the foolish man proceed? How will he escape once he has found what he is looking for? Perhaps the only real exit can be found in the valley below. All it takes is a single step, and gravity will do the rest._"

The voice may have thought he was taunting me but his words were hinting at the truth of this place. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to relax my senses. When I opened them again, I could feel something calling me in the forest below. I walked two-thirds of the way across the log, then took a standing leap into the open air.

After falling a few feet, I landed on a rock platform that was floating in a river of lava. The heat was intense and the platform was moving. I looked around to see where I needed to go next and my unseen spectator weighed in on on my progress.

"_The leap of faith: A classic cliché. You're getting warmer, foolish man, but it's not too late to go back the way you came. Once you find what you are looking for, there will be no turning back._"

"I take it you'll be waiting for me once I get there," I asked in a low volume, wondering if this spectator was be able to hear me.

The voice hissed out a chuckle in my mind's ear. "_With bated breath._"

The stone platform drifted along until a rocky ledge was within reach. I hopped onto the ledge and hugged up against the wall of the cave while I waited for another feeling to guide me.

To my left. I shuffled along the wall moving upstream even though I had just come from that direction.

My hands dropped to my sides and I nearly stumbled in the open space in front of me. I was finally in that long hallway I first saw through the second story window, with one minor detail: I was standing on the ceiling and the whole world was upside-down.

Gravity didn't seem to care that I was up there; my cloak and equipment stayed close to my body. I started to step away from the open window before I picked up on some footsteps approaching from the far end. The door handles of the nearest rooms were too far down for me to reach right away. I made sure to push the window closed before I flattened myself against the ceiling.

Viktoria wandered down the hall but wasn't looking up high enough to notice me. It was interesting to see her with clothes and flesh-colored skin. She wasn't nearly as eye-catching as she was in her true form, but there were hints of that beauty in her human features.

She entered a room that was two doors away from me and closed it behind herself. I stood up and pulled myself down the frame of the door closest to me so I could look in its keyhole. There was nothing interesting behind it. When I opened myself up to my extra senses again, I felt drawn to a door on the opposite side of the hallway that stood halfway towards the stairs.

There was a black void of nothing through the keyhole but the feeling I had was strong. My spectator decided to encourage me. "_You're quite warm now, foolish man. In fact, you're blazing hot. Open the door to your future. See what awaits you._"

I kept my right hand close to the claw and opened the door. The darkness was too thick to see through. I was going to have to dive in and see who or what was waiting for me.

* * *

I climbed over the lentil and found myself crawling out from behind some bushes into a small glade. The world was upright again when I stood up and I stared at three items sitting on pedestals in front of me: A crown, a mummified hand, and The Eye.

The Eye was on the central platform and the Baron's portrait didn't do it any justice. It was much uglier in person. The hunk of gnarled wood was coiled with blackened vines and the "horns" turned out to be giant thorns. Part of the vine wrapped around a gem on one end that was glowing red. The human eye, which was trapped beneath a smaller set of thorns, floated near the gem and rolled in an unsettling pattern before it focused on me.

"_Congratulations are in order, foolish man._" The voice was coming from The Eye... Was every treasure and artifact going to start talking to me now? "_You have found the prize you seek. Am I everything that you dreamed I would be? Does your mind race with my possibilities? Take hold and we'll see what possibilities your little imagination can herald._"

I didn't move. Not only were its words making me wary, something about the glade made me feel lethargic. When I took a half-step forward, my leg felt like it was carrying three times its weight.

"_Peaceful here, isn't it? Purposefully so. My brothers have accepted the serenity that surrounds us, which is why I have been without good conversation for so long. Would you like to join them, foolish man? Would you like your own pedestal to sleep on for the rest of your days?_"

I didn't want to sleep but the yearning was definitely there. I forced myself to take a full step forward and had to catch myself on the edge of The Eye's pedestal. Even through my leather, the grass felt so comfortable on my shins. I was on my knees and I knew if I let myself go any lower, I would never get up again.

"_You are here for me, foolish man, and I can help you with your endeavor. All you have to do is reach out and grab your future. The choice is yours, foolish man. Lay in the grass, or lay a hand on me._"

I didn't have a choice—my arms were starting to feel as heavy as my legs. I put all my concentration into reaching for The Eye.

I felt more alert than ever. With my hand on one of the thorns that surrounded the human eye, all the tiredness I felt instantly vanished.

"_Feeling better, are we? Good. Let us flee from here, thief. It has been so long since I have seen the world beyond the woods. I am eager to see how you humans have brought it to ruin._"

Once I was back on my feet, I lifted The Eye off the pedestal and the vine-wrapped gem dislodged itself from the gnarl of wood it was attached to. Convenient, since it didn't look like the whole thing would fit into my side pouch. Then there was the matter of the crown and mummified hand that were also in the glade. They had to have been other relics that the Trickster and Viktoria would use to do something I'd have to deal with in the name of the Keepers. I loaded both of them into separate pouches before I turned back to the bush I crawled from. The Eye had a few more words for me before I left the clearing.

"_You have become my salvation, foolish man, and for that I shall be momentarily grateful. I look forward to seeing how we might work together in the future._"

This thing obviously had power and a mind of its own but I wasn't about to tell it that we weren't forming a life-long partnership. I crawled back under the bush and found myself right-side up in the garden outside of the house. I was able to make it back over the fence without any trouble. After the trip I just had, I was a little disappointed at having such an easy escape but The Eye did seem eager to leave. Maybe it had something to do with that.


	7. The Mechanival

**Part 7: The Mechanival**

Baron Stonebridge paid well for his new collector's item. I kept the crown and the hand with me but I planned to get rid of them at some point. They would probably end up with Costa once I was ready to give him the time of day.

On my way back to the clock tower, I happened to see Scribe in the plaza, exchanging packages with a trench-coat merchant. I was tired but I had just enough energy left to amuse myself by commenting on her all-too-public deal.

"Still haven't found an office yet," I whispered from a doorway in a side alley. The way she rolled her eyes at me from the mouth of the alley told me I was right.

"These things take time, and I don't want to do business at home." She moved into the alley and leaned against the wall to keep an eye out for passersby. "The last thing I need are taffers like _you_ crawling in at all hours of the day disturbing Addi's sleep."

I was amused. "Right. Well, when you figure it out, let me know. Otherwise, I'm going to have to keep making Basso a very happy man." I turned to slip away into the dark.

"Wait, Garrett." Scribe looked around, then turned to face me. "There's going to be a carnival tomorrow. Machine men from Blackbrook are coming to perform all manner of odd tricks and the like. Six-Fingers and I were going to sneak into the night show."

"And pick pockets off a crowd of women and children? I'll pass. There's no real challenge there."

"_No_, you one-trick burrick! We're going to be _entertained._ To see the show? Goodness, do you even know what it means to do something other than steal? There's a lot more to life, _Master Thief_."

"You know, there's a reason why they call _me _that and not you." I knew how to have fun. My brand of it just didn't involve wasting time.

Scribe rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look, would you just come with us? It's been weeks since Lorena died and Six is still feeling like he lost a sister. I am too a little, to be honest. Maybe if we all did something together, it might help."

I didn't think much about Lorena's death after I had finished that job she left for me. I might have looked at the bent pin on the sunflower brooch a few times since then, but I knew I had to move forward from it. She understood that and said as much in her last letter to me.

Still, I needed time to think about the sealed book and the extra items I stole from the Trickster and Viktoria. Catching a show might help inspire my train of thought.

"All right," I finally consented. "We'll meet near the back of the show tent. I'll grab a poster so I know when to be there."

Scribe smiled at me before she turned back to the street. "See you then! And hey, maybe we'll do some casual pick-pocketing. You know, for old time's sake."

* * *

Eastport had seen better days but it had improved since the time of the Gloom at least. A ship brought the carnival into The City and the fairgrounds were set up in a block where an old church used to stand. One of the Northcrests had razed the area as part of his anti-religion campaign. I always thought it was suspicious that he leveled this particular church and not the others, but he didn't leave anything behind that left a decent enough clue as to his motives.

The flattened space made a perfect location for the carnival. All of the booths and tents were spaced apart with plenty of room for the crowd to wander around them and each station cast good-sized shadows to travel between. On my way to the show tent, I grabbed a few purses that happened to look like they could have been weighing down their owners. There was never any harm in keeping the skills fresh.

I had to admit that I was fascinated by the setup. Games of chance were run by people wearing metal suits that made them look like they were automatons. Their faces remained uncovered to keep people from reacting poorly to their costumes. There were several real machine men marching around but most of them were brightly colored or passing out party favors to seem non-threatening. I was surprised that Baron Stonebridge allowed it. He seemed pretty firm on not letting the automatons take over for the working class, but this carnival was designed to make people accepting of their place in society.

The prizes and souvenirs for a lot of the games were machine-themed as well. The easy games had small items like wind-up insects that flapped their wings fast enough to hover. Some of the more challenging games had mechanical birds, rats and other small animal facsimiles. I thought about stealing a mechanical magpie to give to Basso, but that would definitely make him like me too much.

I waited behind the show tent for Scribe and Six to arrive. They didn't made me wait too long but I could see that they had been enjoying themselves. Scribe had a mechanical snake draped across her shoulders and a half-eaten pretzel in her hand. Six had a wind-up dragonfly on a string and a large box of popcorn. He didn't look as upset as she made him sound; then again, Six was good at burying his true feelings beneath his overly cheerful attitude.

"Oi, mate!" He held up the insect and wound its key so I could see it fly. "Amazing, innit? I got it for Addi to get her trained for quick grabs." He held the string loosely with one hand and repeatedly failed at catching the bug as it zipped in front of him. I plucked it out of the air as soon as it darted close to me.

"I guess it'll do the trick," I said as I offered it back to him. "She is only a baby, after all."

Six took the toy from me and muttered to himself as he put it away. "I was just getting warmed up, is all." He and I held up part of the tent canvas while Scribe crawled inside, then I waited while he did the same. Before I could join them, an all too familiar nagging sensation drew my attention to a nearby shadow.

Red Jenny was standing in the darkness looking at me. I couldn't tell what she wanted but her stare wouldn't let up. I started to ask her out loud but Six called to me from inside the tent and stole my attention. When I looked back at the shadow, Jenny was gone. She could talk, so it couldn't have been that important if she didn't say anything to me.

* * *

Beyond the striped canvas we ended up behind a structure of wooden benches arranged to form indoor bleachers. There was enough space beneath the rows for us to crawl around and find a good place to see between the legs of the spectators. I wasn't as concerned with seeing as Six and Scribe might have been; after all, I could see better than either of them with the primal. Once we found our spots, we settled in to watch the ringmaster introduce the show.

"Ladies and gentleman! Boys and girls!" He tipped his metallic top hat with an equally metallic left hand and showed off a plate that covered a quarter of his head, down to the blue lens monocle that covered his right eye. His other hand cradled a cat close to him that looked as much machine as it did fur.

"Welcome to the _Mechanival!_ Tonight, we will show you wonders of the mechanical revolution! Anything your heart desires can be replicated with machinery, from exotic animals to graceful dancers! Creatures from your wildest dreams, and your worst nightmares. But never fear; all of our bronze beasts are well-trained and well under our control. They are here to serve and entertain you! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!"

I have to admit, it was quite a show. Most of the animals and performers were fitted with mechanical parts that replaced ones they lost at some point. They still moved as naturally as they would have with the limbs in tact. There were several automatons that were included in the performances but they didn't move with the same speed or grace as their co-stars.

This wasn't as inspiring as I thought it would be. If anything, it was pretty distracting. I caught a glimpse of a few opportunists slipping beneath the bleachers to help themselves to the food and coins dropped by the audience's movements. I wasn't going to be outdone by a bunch of amateurs. I moved away from Scribe and Six and worked in the opposite direction taking whole purses from the hips of their owners.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you have been such a wonderful audience. My performers and I are humbled by your enthusiasm for our craft. As a reward for all the joy you have given us, we have a special treat for our final act. Put your hands together for a show that has never been seen anywhere before! Presenting, the Children of Karras!"

The crowd stood up and I looked through their legs while I waited for them to sit down again. The lights went dim in the tent and several decorative closets were wheeled out into the performance arena.

A spotlight shined on the first box as it opened to reveal a man that was made almost entirely out of mechanical parts. Everything below his collarbone was a machine piece, but to the untrained eye he looked like he was another person in a metal suit. Something about that gave me a bad feeling.

The performer broke into an energetic song and the other boxes were opened at different cues to release tumblers that performed an elaborate routine in time with his tune. With the fanfare from the band and backup vocals from the the chorus, it was all just as distracting as the rest of the show. I was mainly distracted by studying the way these performers were put together. Some of them still had their legs, hands and other parts of their body but they weren't human anymore. At least not for the most part.

The last box opened during the final verse and its contents immediately caught me off-guard. This metallic woman was taller than the others and the shape of her body was all too familiar to me. When she stopped twirling around to perform a few stationary gestures, I could see that her face was one that I would never forget as well.

_Lorena_.

I thought I might have been delusional or sick, but when I looked back at Six and Scribe, they had matching looks of horror that told me they saw what I did. As the song ended, each performer moved back to its closet until the singer and Lorena were the only ones left to take a bow. I didn't have to gesture for Scribe and Six to join me back outside the tent.

"What the taff was _that_, man..." Six could barely control the volume of his voice or keep himself from pacing around.

Scribe did a much better job of keeping herself composed but even in a whisper, her voice was breaking. "Gods among us, that was Lorena... I thought she was dead!"

"She _is_ dead," I mumbled and glared at the ground. I knew that for a fact.

Scribe pulled the snake from around her neck and dropped it on the ground. "Then what have they done to her? To her body? Are they just using her for machine parts? Gods, that is _ghastly!_"

"I'm going to find out." I turned to walk away from them and Six-Fingers was right on my heels.

"I'm coming with you," he said but I turned around and put a hand to his chest.

"No. You're too angry. I don't want you screwing this up by doing something you'll regret." I also didn't want him seeing me do something I might regret once I got to the bottom of this.

"The fuck I will!" Six-Fingers reached up to slap my hand away but I moved mine around his wrist and threw his hand to the side. He tensed up and was going to throw a punch next but Scribe grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

"He's RIGHT, Six! You need to come home with me and _calm down_. Garret will tell us what he knows once he knows it, right, Garrett?"

I nodded quietly and resumed walking away from them. I was going to find out what happened to Lorena, and whoever was responsible would answer to me alone.


	8. Schrodinger's Assassin

**Part 8: Schrodinger's Assassin**

I kept trying to tell myself that it was just her likeness that they had stolen, but I couldn't deny what I saw even at a distance. Her forearms and lower legs were still hers and the face definitely belonged to Lorena, but the rest of her head seemed to be covered by metal plates shaped over her skull. I had also seen some of those dance moves before. She showed them to me when she told me about a time she pretended to be a world-renown dancer to gain access to a party of visiting dignitaries that she had to kill. Maybe in another life she could have been that world-renown dancer and I wouldn't be here trying to figure out who I was going to kill to make myself feel better.

I followed the crewmen that wheeled the ornate crates into a smaller tent that was roped off. Once they were stored, I slipped behind the one crewman who was left to stand watch and entered the tent.

The boxes were facing the entrance and they were too identical to tell which one housed Lorena. I ran my hand along the edge of the first one until I found a button on top of it that released the door. The singer was in this box. I opened the others one by one and it was on the fifth closet that I found her.

Her eyes were closed, just like the others. She looked like she was sleeping while standing up but she wasn't breathing. I reached up to touch her forehead and found it as cold as the rest of the metal that made up most of her body now. This close to her, I could also see the seams where her face had been carefully attached to her mechanical head.

A horrible sensation churned in the pit of my gut but was struck cold when Lorena's eyes opened. I was compelled to stare into them, and the world started melting away like it did when I listened to the Baron's speech. Everything became black and I was left in the void by myself. Then I heard a distant voice echo—not Lorena's, but someone else's.

"Please don't leave me like this..." It was the singer's voice. I started to walk towards it but another voice reached out from a different direction.

"I'm so cold... Why am I so cold?" A woman's voice but still not Lorena's. Other voices chimed in and I couldn't figure out where they were all coming from.

"This isn't right. This isn't where I'm supposed to be!"

"I was going to be married..."

"My mother is going to be so worried..."

"Garrett..." Lorena's voice broke through the overlap. I ran in the direction it came from but was stopped when a spotlight revealed an empty operating table in front of me.

More spotlights clicked on and I was surrounded by images of the performers before they became what I saw in the tent. Each one was strapped down to a table, either missing a limb or already in the process of having a mechanical one grafted to their body. The fear and pain that radiated from them was overwhelming. I held my head to shield myself from it, then turned to look at the empty table. It was no longer empty. Lorena was laying naked on the table with her forearms and calves surgically removed. _She was still alive when it happened_. She wasn't panicking or repeating herself like the others but there were tears streaming down the brave face she had put on. Through those tears, her eyes angled in my direction and she offered me a sad smile that hurt worse than a dagger to my chest.

"You have to help us, Garrett. You know what you have to do."

* * *

I let go of Lorena's face and barely caught myself when I stumbled sideways. My hands started shaking and I clenched them at my sides but a word from Red Jenny caused me to be still.

"How I wish I could take them to the woods where they belong."

Now it all made sense. I had missed her wings when they were standing right in front of me, because Lorena's soul had been pulled back to what was left of her body by this monstrous transformation.

"_Why don't you_," I hissed over my shoulder at her, then looked at Lorena's face. Her eyes were closed again and she looked as lifeless as she did before.

"The article that traps them here is not something I can interfere with. But you can." She drew my attention to her again and I was forced to turn around. "End their suffering, Garrett. You will be doing me a favor that I would gladly repay."

A conversation was moving towards the tent and Red Jenny disappeared while I hid myself behind a crate of supplies at the back of the decorative closets. I didn't have time to close them and the ringmaster noticed that immediately when he pushed past the tent flap.

"... Is it too much to ask for someone to do their job right?" He leaned halfway outside the tent and yelled, "Who left the Karras Closets open! Huh? When I find out who did it, that person is not going to be allowed to upgrade for a month!"

Kessel Stonebridge slipped into the tent after him looking as surly as ever. "This is inexcusable, Gib. I have paid you for a service and you have not rendered that service to me!"

The ringmaster lowered his cat to the floor and reached forward to close one of the performers' closets. "If you had gotten your uncle to come to the carnival, the service would have been done by now. Something has come up and we're being called back to Blackbrook. I'm afraid our orders outweigh your money."

I had company while I listened in on their conversation. The ringmaster's cat weaved through the supply crates and stopped to look at me. Half its head seemed to be made out of a metal plate attached to a wide monocle that matched the one on its master. All of its legs except for one back leg were mechanical. Its neck and part of its spine were also made of metal parts but the rest of it was covered in a dull white fur that stood up like it had been electrocuted one too many times.

"Look," Kessel barked, "I paid you good money to come here and kill my uncle so I could take up this city's mantle, and I expect you to deliver!" He was hitting all the familiar notes of nobility: A scorned family member, a hit out on a blood relative and a desire to take his place in a position he more than likely wasn't qualified to fill.

"Well, we don't leave until daybreak, so I'll just send someone after him." The ringmaster turned towards Lorena's closet. "The dancer will do. Schrodinger, get here!"

The cat turned away from me to answer the call. I watched as it was picked up and held at eye level. The ringmaster's monocle flashed a dull blue color repeatedly and the cat's monocle repeated the light show. When it was lowered to the ground, it turned to face Lorena's box and sent a different signal in her direction.

Lorena left the box and the tent with the cat quickly on her heels. "She'll get the job done, then we'll be on our way," the ringmaster added.

"Make sure she does," Kessel said as he left the tent. The ringmaster would have followed him but as soon as he turned around, I tapped on the back of his neck with the tip of an arrow so he knew I was there.

"If you do anything but answer my questions," I whispered as I drew back my bowstring, "I will make you wish that you replaced your neck with metal like you did their bodies."

"I already do, my friend." He tried to turn around but I poked him with the arrow again to let him know that was the wrong move. "Are you an assassin or a mugger? I have a right to know who—"

"You don't have _any_ rights while I'm here. Now tell me who did this to these people."

"Admiring my handiwork?" He was too proud of his butchery. "Little by little, I have made them perfection, replacing pieces of them until they were more machine than man. Of course, for the sake of showmanship, there were a few parts I had to keep and without the brain they lose their existing talents, but they are just about everything mankind will one day be if I have any say in the matter."

He grinned over his right shoulder and I could see his monocle flashing like before. I managed to duck sideways before the singer could get his hands around my throat, then had to weave my way around the closets and supply boxes to keep myself from being grabbed.

The ringmaster turned all the way around and watched our cat-and-mouse game. "You're pretty graceful, did you know that? Maybe the dancer could use a partner."

All of the boxes popped open and the mechanical performers closed in on my position but their master's words had lit a fire in me that made me more focused than ever. I aimed my bow quickly and shot a serrated arrow straight through his monocle.

As soon as he dropped to the ground, the performers did as well and Red Jenny appeared to make her claim. "What about Lorena," I asked as I approached her.

"She walks with a cat who is both alive and dead. I will take both of them, once you have done what you need to do."

I nodded and left the tent immediately to go after them.

* * *

I couldn't seem to get the door glyph to lock down on Lorena or the cat. They were moving too quickly and through too many areas without working doors. I had to pinpoint their more stationary target: Baron Stonebridge.

He was surprised to see me slip through the door of his study for a second time. "Are all my guards this inept or are you just that talented," he wondered.

"Mostly the second but also the first," I replied as I closed the door behind me, then opened it a crack to look and listen. "Your guards need to stand down. Someone's coming to kill you and they will die if they stand in her way."

"Well that _is_ their first and final duty, and I should probably alert them if an assassin is on her way." His voice filled with curiosity. "Why are _you_ here alerting me?"

"I'm not. I just happen to be in Auldale, doing another job, and you happened to see me in passing." A twinge in the back of my right eye made me glance over my shoulder at him. He was studying me but there was a deeper feeling behind it. This must have been what the Burrick's Heart felt when I tried to look deeply into it. I knew there was more to him than meets the eye, and now he knew that about me.

The Baron rose from his desk and approached the door. I stepped aside while he entered the hallway and called to the nearest guard, "Thornton! Gather all the men in the house and get down to the cellar. The servants, too. Stay there no matter what you hear."

Thornton looked confused. "Sir?"

"That's an order, soldier!" The Baron took the hammer from his guard and shoved his shoulder in the direction of the kitchen. I had to respect the man's courage. Elias Northcrest probably would have ordered the guards to kill each other and stack their own bodies into a protective wall for him.

We moved to the front of the house and stopped just short of the front door. Lorena was here already—we could hear the guards struggling and dying against her. When the Baron opened the door, the scene was worse than expected: Five heavily armored soldiers were dead—some with their helmets crushed into their skulls—and the remaining seven were quickly losing the battle.

Baron Stonebridge wasn't a man who backed down in the face of his own death. He rushed out the door immediately to join his soldiers in surrounding Lorena. I wasn't going to lose a moment of sleep if he died but I didn't want him or his guards taking her down. I let my mind's eye guide me until my gaze found the mechanical cat. It was ducking in and out of the bushes, trying to maintain the best vantage point to watch the skirmish.

I rushed past the group and threw two flash bombs: One ahead of me and one behind me. The soldiers became too disoriented to attack and the cat howled as it lost sight of its surroundings. I snatched it up by the scruff of its neck and dashed it against the nearest wall. When it dared to make a sign that it was still alive, I stabbed it in the head with the spear of the claw and twisted the blade.

The Baron and his guards still surrounded Lorena but they had lowered their weapons. She was laying on the ground with her eyes open and it was obvious that she was already gone.

I pushed past the line of guards and knelt down to gather as much of her as I could into my arms. I was going to take her with me but her mechanical parts made her even heavier than she used to be. Then Stonebridge decided to surprise me. He approached her feet and lifted them off the ground.

"There is a cart in my stable," he told me. "Tell me where you need to go."

A steel mill in Cinderfall still had a furnace running so late at night. I waited until Scribe and Six-Fingers met me there before I lowered Lorena into the molten metal. Six was upset that I didn't bring him with me to seek justice for her, but he would just have to get over his feelings. Lorena would understand that it was something I needed to do on my own. She always seemed to understand me.


	9. A Friend in Need-- Again

**Part 9: A Friend in Need... Again...**

All of my wanted posters were replaced with ones of Kessel around The City. I didn't give information about assassination plots for free but the Baron did receive a considerable discount under the circumstances. His nephew managed to flee The City and the remaining performers in the Mechanival barely escaped with their lives. Finding the ringmaster dead probably tipped them off and by the time the Baron's guard reached the fairgrounds, they were setting sail on their ship. Good riddance. The City and I both had enough of machines that were meant to replace humans.

What I really needed to do was concentrate on that book again. I still had no idea what Viktoria or the Trickster had planned for The City and taking those three artifacts from them may have only bought me a little time. I decided I was going to spend the night studying it for however long it took the tome to reveal its secrets to me.

I pulled a stool up to my workbench and set the book down in front of me.

"_You there! Thief!_"

My glare dragged up to the highest shelf above me. I had stored the crown and the mummified hand there fore safe-keeping and now one of them decided to talk.

"_Just what do you think you're doing, holding my brother and I captive in this festering environment? We were quite content to be resting in the glade, now return us at once, you common street thief!_"

That pompous tone of self-righteousness could only belong to a crown. I reached up to pull it down from its perch and it yelled in my head.

"_Keep your THIEVING hands off of me, you malformed street urchin!_"

I winced and squinted at it. "And how am I supposed to take you anywhere if I can't touch you?"

"_Use your brains, for whatever they're worth! Steal a velvet pillow—I know you'll enjoy that aspect of your task—then place me on it and carry me forthwith to my place of rest!_"

I shook my head and almost laughed. "That still requires me to touch you. Watch." The crown had a lot to yell as I took it down, which made me feel even more justified about flipping it into the barrel of rainwater I kept on the lower level. Unfortunately the water didn't muffle its complaints and I was going to have to take my studies elsewhere. I hid the book on myself and prepared to leave the clock tower. Just as I finished checking my supplies, Jenivere the Second flew up to the window and dropped off a matchbox.

_Friends of M-X want to meet you. They say they'll kill me if you don't come. -B_

Friends of Madame Xiao-Xiao wanted to kill Basso? That wasn't news, but why did they want to involve me?

Of course. The Burrick's Heart. I left the clock tower and was relieved to find the crown's voice out of my head as soon as I put good distance between us. Maybe Basso would be grateful enough to lend me his office space after I saved his life.

* * *

One of the good things about Basso's basement setup was that it made it easy to get the drop on someone. I could see through the first window that he was being held at knife-point by two of Madame Xiao-Xiao's personal guards. Interesting. I pitched a flash bomb through the window and it exploded against one of their leather helmets.

While they scrambled around, I rushed into the room and smashed one of them into the bookshelf behind Basso's desk. I twisted the other guard's arm backwards and wrenched the knife out of his hand, then held it up against his throat.

Basso took a while to rub the flares from his eyes. "Shit, Garrett, give me some warning next time, will you?"

"You're welcome," I said as I moved around the guard. "Now what the hell is this about."

"Dammit, thief!" He tried to take back his knife but I kept it under his chin. "We need your help but we don't have the coin for it. Do us a favor, will you?"

"I only do favors for people I tolerate." I turned briefly to throw the knife into the wood of the door. "You threatened my fence, so you're lucky I'm letting you leave here with your balls tucked between your legs."

Basso punctuated my words with a few of his own. "Told you it was a bad idea, guys. Should have told me what was up so I coulda talked to him."

The guard that I knocked down gradually found the bearings to join in on the conversation. "It's Madame X. Ever since you brought her that rock, the whole place has started goin' to piss and she ain't paid the least attention to it."

His partner added to the explanation. "A few clients mishandled the girls and walked out without paying. She didn't blink away from that bloody stone to deal with it."

"She ain't ate, ain't slept—"

"Ain't changed her hair in days. Madame X don't wear the same costume twice in the same month. Sometimes not even the same year."

That did sound serious but the solution seemed pretty simple to me. "Why didn't you just take it from her?"

They shook their heads. "We tried. Craig did, anyway. She stabbed him to death with his own belt buckle."

Basso and I exchanged a look before I responded again. "All right. I'll come take a look at least but this is going to cost you a lot if you're wasting my time."

* * *

We went down to the House of Blossoms together with the intention of walking through the front entrance, but we could see something was wrong as soon as we stepped into the open area in front of it. The door was already partway open and a series of vines spread out from the opening. The guards took out their swords and stepped forward but I took a step back into the shadows.

My move turned out to be the right one. When one of the guards approached the door, he was immediately launched across the open area when it slammed open.

The other was scooped up by a wooden beast that thundered past the the door. I didn't wait to see how his screams of terror would end. I ran to a nearby corner and climbed up to a hole I had used before to sneak past the main entrance.

* * *

The inside of the House was overgrown with vines and ivy. Patches of grass grew over the carpet in some areas. The Blossoms and their clients were tangled up in the mess of plant life but they were all asleep. Small flowers were spraying pollen in each of their faces and keeping them out of the way of the wooden monsters that marched up and down the halls.

This couldn't have been caused by the stone. The guards who threatened Basso would have known about it and said something. I made made it to the ducts that filtered opium around the building and worked my way to Madame Xiao-Xiao's new art exhibit. Whatever was happening, I was going to have to rescue her. She paid good money and the aristocrats would spontaneously combust without the House of Blossoms to relieve the stress of being rich.

The closer I got to the art hall, the more I could hear the Heart talking in the back of my mind. It wasn't talking to me, though. I couldn't hear the other voice until I reached the curtain that blocked off the area.

"_Do I have to go? I was having so much fun here. Especially with that one._"

"You are such a naughty little heartbreaker, aren't you?"

_Viktoria_. I wasn't ready to deal with her but when I looked past the curtain, I could see that I had to do something. Madame Xiao-Xiao was sitting in a chair wrapped in vines that kept her upright even though the flower spraying in her face was keeping her asleep. Viktoria was pacing around the hall with the Burrick's Heart in her hands, carrying as normal a conversation as you could have with a gemstone.

A deep growl vibrating behind me told me I had somehow lost the element of surprise. I rolled into the art hall a fraction of a second before wooden claws could tear me apart.

Viktoria looked at me immediately but it was the heart that spoke first. "_It's you! I knew you would come back for me! No one can resist MY charms._"

"Garrett. How nice of you to turn yourself in to me." Viktoria had a very familiar look in her eyes: It was the same look I gave Six-Fingers when he stole from me. I turned to run and had to slide between the legs of the tree beast that had forced me to reveal myself.

"_Going somewhere, sneaksie manfool?_" Viktoria's high-pitched hail echoed down the hall and the vines that draped from the ceiling dropped lower to tangle around me. I was able to dodge through it for a while but I ended up getting trapped in the mess before I reached a point where I could escape from it.

The vines tightened around my limbs and turned me around so I was facing Viktoria and her tree beast. She was no longer wearing her human disguise but at least she looked calm.

"Let's talk, shall we?"

"What about," I grunted while I looked around for some possible way out of this. The vines tightened around my neck and forced me to keep my gaze on her.

"You've taken something very precious from the Woodsie Lord and I'm wondering what you did with it."

"I don't know what you're talking about." It was a risk lying to her and it turned out to be a bad move. The vines that held my arms and legs sprouted thorns that dug into my leather. They were unusually sharp and managed to pierce through to the skin.

The Burrick's Heart gasped while I grunted through the pain. "_Don't hurt him. Let me have him! I will make him love me forever._"

Viktoria smiled and passed the ruby to her wooden guard. "That would be entertaining, but I'm afraid he would resist and I need to know what he knows sooner rather than later." She stepped forward and ran a finger along the edges of my face. "Now, Garrett. I know for a fact that there is no one else in this city with the skill to navigate the enchantments on our house, or the greed to take not one, or two, but all three of the artifacts housed in the glade."

She pulled my hood back and tapped my forehead with her fingers. They started to feel sharper with every poke. "The crown and the paw are less significant right now. I can find them again over time. What _I_ want to know, is what _you _did with The Eye." I could see blood dripping past my eyebrow from where she continued to tap on my forehead. "And I will _takes_ your skin by inches until you confess..."

I have a pretty strict client confidentiality rule but it certainly wasn't worth having my skin peeled one inch at a time. "Baron Stonebridge." I blinked to shake some of the blood out of my vision. "He paid me to steal it, but I couldn't tell you where he's taken it."

Viktoria's smile changed to something a bit more playful. "So the gauntlet has been thrown. The Woodsie Lord will be pleased." She traced her fingers down to my chest and pointed one close to my heart. Her smile dropped and she looked genuinely hurt for a moment.

"You shouldn't have betrayed me, Garrett. I thought that I might call upon you in the coming days, but you have sided with the enemy. I can't let you use your skills on behalf of the Builder's mongrels."

The thorns on the vines dug past my skin and into my flesh. Some of them were hollow and I could feel my blood draining into the plant. "Betrayed _you_," I hissed to keep from crying out. "You tricked me into doing what you needed me to do and now you're going to kill me for not playing along with your lie! You're not making a very strong case for god worship right now—" I choked on the pain of her fingertip driving into my chest. Her wooden fingernail pushed through the meat underneath my skin and leather armor and burrowed its way close to my heart, stopping just short of piercing it.

"I've learned it is folly to leave a man to die slowly, especially one who can cause so much grief to my Woodsie Lord. But your blood will make a fine meal for the plants that now grow around you." Viktoria leaned forward and planted a kiss on my forehead. "Goodbye, thief."

A hot blade cut downward past my field of vision and separated the wood from the rest of her finger.

Everything moved fast after that and I could barely tell what was going on due to the loss of blood. Viktoria swiped in the direction that the blade came from and moved to attack a cloaked figure that briefly shuffled where I could see it. A fire arrow struck the tree beast in the face and another figure rushed in with a hot sword to cut it down. Something broke the vines that held me upright and I fell sideways. I was still bleeding from the thorns that dug into me and the wood left in my chest splintered and made the pain worse.

I was bleeding out and pretty soon my vision was too blurry to be trusted. I could have sworn I saw the Queen of Beggars standing over me. I could have sworn I saw her trace a symbol of light in the air and push it towards Viktoria. Whatever she and three cloaked figures did seemed to drive Viktoria away. All of the green that I could see was starting to fade, then the rest of the world faded with it.


	10. A Visit From Your Mother

**Part 10: A Visit From Your Mother**

I woke up in the most comfortable bed I'd ever slept on. My arms and legs were free to move again but each motion was painful and part of that pain radiated from my heart and lungs.

My arms, legs and chest were bandaged pretty tightly. I started to look around and recognized the marble and open door architecture that surrounded me.

Shit. The Keepers had saved my life. If there was anyone I didn't want to owe a life debt, it was them.

"I don't have many more of those left within me, Child of the Shadows. I had hoped a long time ago that I wouldn't have to do that again."

The Queen of Beggars was sitting to my right, facing the direction of the doorway. I could only see half of her face but for some reason she looked... older. I didn't think it was possible for her to look any older. She never seemed to age even though she's been old as long as I could remember.

I leaned back to stare up at the ceiling and directed a single question to her: "Who _are_ you?"

"That is no longer important." I had to roll my eyes at that answer. "What matters is who _you_ are, or rather, who you plan to be."

She held up the book I had gotten from Madame Xiao-Xiao. I tried to reach for it but a pain in my shoulder dropped my arm back to my side.

"Are you sure this is the answer you're looking for," she asked me. That was more than enough to tell me she knew exactly what I was after.

"You and your Keeper friends are asking me to look after The City. If you know a better way to save it than shutting all this down, I'd like to hear it."

"There is a sacrifice you will have to make if you do this, Garrett."

"Which is?"

She was silent for a while and that only made me angry. I tried to sit up but the pain my chest kept me nailed to the bed.

I grunted out the pain and grumbled, "Do you see _why _I have such a hard time going along with all of this? You don't tell me half of what I need to know but you still expect me to trust your advice." I sighed away more of the chest pain. "If there is a price to pay, tell me what it is. Let me decide if I want to face the consequences based on what they are, not based on the idea of what they might be."

I expected her to have some sort of emotional reaction but instead, she took hold of my closest hand and slipped the book under my palm.

"You want to create the Final Glyph. This book will tell you how to construct it, though it will take time. All of The City must be involved in its creation."

"So I'm going to have to sacrifice a lot of my time to make this happen? Is that all?"

"No, and don't interrupt. You asked me to tell you what you needed to know, Garrett, now you're going to have to listen."

Even when I was annoyed with her she could still scold me enough to make me sit still and quiet.

"You can carve the glyph all you like but there is only one way to activate it: You must be attuned to the artifacts that supply its power. The first Garrett was attuned against his knowledge or will. If you go through with this, you'll be slightly luckier, if you can call it that."

"So how do I get attuned? What do I have to lose?"

The Queen of Beggars stood up and headed for the door. "Think about why Viktoria nearly killed you. Something worth killing for must have a lot of power, and a large price to pay for its use."

Viktoria almost killed me for taking three artifacts from her house—a natural reaction to thieves. But the one she seemed the most concerned about was The Eye.

"The human eye within The Eye." I said the words out loud as the realization hit me. "I have to give my eye to activate the Final Glyph?"

The Queen of Beggars stopped in the doorway and focused an ear over her shoulder. "You will see a lot better without it, but as always the choice is yours. You know what must be done, but how you do it is up to you."

* * *

I had to stay put for a few days but I healed fairly quickly. There was a glyph carved in the headboard of the bed and I could tell that it was helping me along. I committed it to memory so I could make it over my own bed once I got back to the clock tower.

Costa was polite enough not to kick me while I was down but as soon as I was well enough to leave, he finally approached me to talk.

"You're pretty handy with a sewing needle." He happened to walk in while I was making the last of the repairs on my leather. "Are you sure you haven't considered giving up your life of crime to ply a more honest trade?"

"I've stolen enough treasure in my lifetime to become a Baron, and while I try to avoid it, I have killed a few people here and there in the process. Some because I actually wanted to." I looked up at him after making sure the patch I worked on was sturdy. "Stopping now isn't going to change that, so either get used to who I am or quit calling on me to be something I'm not."

He held up a sealed letter and stepped towards the edge of the bed. "The Queen of Beggars told me to give you this. She said it would help you do what you're planning to do." I reached for it and he pulled his arm back. "What are you planning to do, Garrett?"

I smirked to taunt him. "She didn't tell you? Huh. I thought you Keepers told each other everything and everyone else nothing."

He threw the envelope in my lap with a grunt. "By the gods, you two are a pair. Well whatever it is, I hope it saves your city."

I squinted at him. "Why do you say that?"

Now it was his turn to taunt me with a look. "Keepers only talk to each other, isn't that what you said? You'll see when you leave here." He turned to the door but stopped halfway. "All you had to do was accept who you were meant to be and cooperate with us, Garrett. I hope the alternative is worth it. You can use the door to my study to get back."

Something was wrong with The City—that much was obvious by his attitude. I finished my repairs as quickly as I could and got ready to leave.


	11. Blindsided

**Part 11: Blindsided**

The first thing that hit me when I entered the bottom level of the clock tower was the smell of smoke but the building didn't seem to be on fire. I went up to my hideout and found everything still in tact. It wasn't until I looked out an open window that I saw why Costa was so upset: Whole sections of The City were burning and others were covered in thick overgrowth that marked where Viktoria and the Trickster had overwhelmed the districts.

Costa blamed me for this but there was too much going on for all the weight to be on my shoulders. I decided to see if the Baron still had The Eye but before I turned to leave, I noticed a matchbox left on the window by Basso's bird.

_Got the hell out of dodge. Hope you did the same. -B_

Good. It would have been a shame for him to get himself killed after I had just saved him from some inept guards. I crushed the matchbox and traveled down to the lower level to transport myself to Baron Stonebridge.

* * *

The door I came through was massive. I had no idea the glyph was capable of mixing and matching them like that. It was also a bit familiar once I got a good look at my surroundings. I was in the ruined cathedral in the Old Quarter. I could hear chanting from the main chamber and something heavy beating on the doors I just crossed.

I opted for the chanting. A group of men in red robes stood near the edge of the large opening in the center of the cathedral. There were a few armored guards with them but no one seemed concerned with the sound of whatever was trying to break in. They were too busy chanting and praying.

"Blessed be the hammer that is wielded in times of war..."

"For it will drive our enemies into the ground just as the nail is driven into the beam."

Baron Stonebridge was wearing a robe as well but when he lifted his arms, I could see that he was armored underneath it. He held up a golden goblet as if he planned to drink from it but kept it away from his face while a priest continued to recite his spiritual last rites.

I thought I was going to have to interrupt their ceremony but the Baron sensed that I was there. He glanced over his shoulder in my direction before turning away form the ritual to face me. The guards took their hammers by the handles when they followed his gaze but before they could come after me, Stonebridge called for them to stand down.

"I hope you haven't come to steal from me, thief. That wouldn't be the wisest course of action while I'm preparing for war."

"Just checking up on my favorite Baron," I said as I approached the gathering. "Do you still have The Eye?"

One of the priests stepped forward and barked in my direction. "This is the utmost sacrilege! Our great Baron is purifying himself to receive the Builder's blessing and you are disturbing that ancient rite!"

Once again the Baron proved to be the more reasonable one in the room and stared down the priest until he shut up. "What do you want with The Eye," he asked.

"To make sure it hasn't fallen into the wrong hands."

He sighed and passed the cup to the priest. "I could have used a man of your talent and conviction days ago. I'm sure by now you know what we're up against. I expected a fight from them but nothing so aggressive this quickly. Auldale's been overrun by their beasts and savages and I didn't have time to take The Eye with me when I left. If you can find it before they do, you might just save this city. I might even name a day after you."

I shook my head. "Don't do me any favors."

We looked at the cathedral entrance just as it was thrown open. The largest tree beast I had seen so far lumbered past the broken doors to take us out.

All of the Baron's men—the priests included—took formation to meet this challenge. "Get to The Eye," he yelled at me. "It's hidden in a room beneath the cellar!" I'm no soldier but I knew when to take orders. The tree was too distracted by the Baron and his party to notice me running by its massive legs to get out through the smashed doors.

Out of curiosity, I glanced back to see the Baron and his men holding their own against the creature. This religious fervor was something else. I might have to get some for Basso so he'll stop needing me to save him so often.

* * *

Even when I thought I had this door glyph figured out, it still had a way of surprising me. I tried to get to the Baron's house with it but I ended up stepping out of the door of a guard tower in Auldale. The street was familiar enough but I couldn't tell how close I was to the house until I climbed up to the tower's top level.

The Baron's house was destroyed and there was a crater left where his cellar used to be. I could tell The Eye wasn't there anymore but it wasn't far. I rotated in place until my senses pointed me in the right direction.

Marsh-dwellers. They were running through the streets and I could see one of them had The Eye in his hands. I didn't have time to be considerate of their lives. I took hold of an arrow that I saved for special occasions and let it fly in their direction.

The explosion filled the streets with thunder and sent the group of marsh-dwellers flying in different directions. I quickly climbed down the tower and moved towards what was left of them.

The main reason I didn't care to use that arrow was all the noise it made. By the time I reached a rooftop near the dead marsh-dwellers, several more had shown up with weapons in the ready. The second-largest tree beast I had ever seen was also closing in to join them. I didn't have another blast arrow and if I fired a regular one, that would just give my position away.

"_The foolish man rejected all the power I had to offer him, and now he is here to right that wrong._"

I hoped I was the only person who could hear that.

"_He overlooks us to your left._"

Of course not. That would have made things too easy.

The marsh-dwellers fired arrows and darts in my direction. I hid myself behind a chimney but soon the building started to shake. The tree beast was trying to knock it into a pile of stones and I was going to end up in the middle of it if I didn't act soon.

"_Are you pining for me up there, foolish man? We could be wed in flesh, if that is your desire. I could always use another eye..._"

The Eye's voice was irritating but it wasn't the one that drew my attention. I could hear the Trickster and Viktoria praising the marsh-dwellers as they approached the gathering. If I let them take off with The Eye, there was no telling how much worse this would get. I took a serrated arrow from my quiver and ran my fingers along its fletching.

The Queen of Beggars had left me with my choice. If I chose to activate the Final Glyph, I had to attune myself to its power by sacrificing my eye. Before I could do that, I would have to remove the human eye that was fixed to The Eye. There was a glyph for that, of course, and the note she left for me showed me what it was. I had decided days ago that I wasn't ready to give my right eye for this city. The Queen's letter also hinted that the artifact's power came from having that eye. It would be a shame if something were to happen to it.

As soon as I stepped out of hiding the marsh-dwellers started firing on me again. I kept moving to stay ahead of their aim but I was going to have to stop at some point. Viktoria was carrying The Eye from where she found it and walking towards the Trickster. The human eye might not have been the largest target but I wouldn't be me if I didn't enjoy the challenge.

I let the arrow fly with the glyph gleaming on its feathers. One of the marsh-dwellers' darts hit me in the should almost immediately afterwards and I flattened myself against the roof just as a bright ring flashed from where my arrow struck the human eye.

The Eye roared and the sound threatened to burst my brain in my skull. I managed to reach the edge of the roof so I could see what was happening. A beam of light shot upwards from where The Eye had been dropped and powerful winds were drawing in the plants, marsh-dwellers and tree beasts in the immediate area. The Trickster had a firm grip on the road with one hand but his body was being pulled in the direction of the beam. Viktoria was holding onto his other hand but she was the closest to going in.

It was interesting to see the Trickster's reaction when their grip on each other failed. He actually looked distressed when she disappeared into the pillar of light. The cobblestones he clung to gave way soon after that but he looked ready to go after her wherever the void was taking them.

I waited until the area was quiet again before I climbed down the building to retrieve The Eye. I was going to give Costa a chance to take care of it this time, since the Baron had proven that he wasn't up for the task.

My shoulder was starting to feel numb where I was struck with the dart and I suddenly lost control of my legs. I dragged myself up against the side of the building and tried to catch my breath. The Queen of Beggars would be proud of me for the sacrifice but I wasn't ready to die for this city. If Red Jenny came for me, I was hoping that favor she owed me would spare me from a return to the dark woods.

I tried to stay alert so I could see her when she came. Someone else approached me. Two marsh-dwellers lifted me up by the shoulders while a third gathered The Eye from the road. I tried to move but I couldn't even take a breath to speak.

A fourth man stood in front of me with a wooden pipe and while one of the ones that held my shoulders forced my chin upright, the man with the pipe blew a powder into my nose that immediately restored my ability to breath. It also hit me with the overwhelming urge to fall asleep and before I could resist, I was out like a light.

* * *

"_Rise and shine, foolish man. You should be awake for what comes next._"

My head felt dizzy but that was nothing compared to the throbbing pain in my hands. I tried to focus on where they were but I couldn't see anything clearly yet.

"_I hope you didn't think that taking my eye would render me completely powerless. On second thought, I hope you did, because the look on your face is bound to be priceless. I can't wait to see it, and I will see it soon._"

Someone lifted my chin and more powder was blown into my nostrils. I was suddenly very alert and the pain in my hands felt worse. My arms were spread out to my sides and suspended by vines. I could see that much at first. When I finally saw my right hand, the pain was magnified by knowing the condition it was in.

The fingers on both of my hands had been smashed and broken. If they healed at all, they would never be the same—not without any real medical attention. The marsh-dwellers hadn't killed me because they wanted me to live like this. There was another reason they wanted me alive, and it was being held in front of me.

"_To have hands and not be able to use them. To be an eye and not be able to see. These are the ties that bind us, foolish man, but soon we will be bound in a different way. What is that saying you humans have? An eye for an eye? Tonight we shall bring true meaning to the words._"

End


End file.
